New Delhi: In a bid to find new buyers for domestic coal, the Union Cabinet has approved a new policy that will allow coal buyers under bonds or long-term contracts to export coal.
The Cabinet on Friday also approved India’s 16th Census, which will begin in April 2026 and end in February 2027. Around three million people will help carry out the world’s largest statistical exercise for which ₹11,718 million crowns were approved.
A coal bond is a contract or agreement to supply coal from specific mines to designated consumers. The move is aimed at expanding the Indian coal market and enabling more coal to be supplied for export. India’s annual coal production crossed the one billion tonne mark for the first time in FY24.
Coal auction
The new coal allocation policy – Coal Linkage Auction Policy for Seamless, Efficient and Transparent Utilization (CoalSETU) – will enable the establishment of a separate window called ‘CoalSETU’ for the auction of coal link contracts. This will allow domestic buyers who need coal to get it at auction. According to the current rules, entities that purchase coal intended for non-energy sectors can only use it for themselves.
“Looking at the current and future dynamics of the market and in order to facilitate business and accelerate the use of existing coal reserves and reduce dependence on imported coal to meet the country’s energy needs, it was necessary to re-look at the current adjustment of coal supplies to the NRS and to extend the links in the NRS to coal consumers without any restrictions on final consumption,” the cabinet said in an official statement.
Under the new norms, holders of coal bonds will be able to export up to 50% of the coal purchased through the bonds and enter into fuel supply contracts for up to 15 years.
Amrit Lal Meena, former secretary of the union coal ministry said, “We want to ensure that domestic coal finds more buyers amid rising coal production and more coal coming from private players. There is plenty of coal in the country and since end-use restrictions have been lifted, coal buyers can now sell to other players and even export it.”
He added that due to lower logistics costs, India will look at neighboring countries – Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka – as initial markets for Indian coal exports. Meena also said the move to allow more exports would help the trade balance as India still imports most of its coking coal.
Census Caste
Following the cabinet decision in April, the government approved the caste enumeration as part of the census. In an official statement, it said new digital tools, including mobile applications for data collection and a real-time census management and monitoring system (CMMS) portal, will ensure better accuracy and faster processing.
The census is key to policy making and deciding each state’s share of the center’s tax revenue. The last census in India was held in 2011.
The tenure of the Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) ends in April 2026. Currently, 41% of the Centre’s revenue is shared with the states under the FFC formula. The revenue share for each state is decided based on factors such as population. The award period of the Sixteenth Finance Commission begins in April.
The cabinet also approved the minimum support price (MSP) for copra for the 2026 season. The MSP for fair average quality ground copra was fixed at ₹12,027 per cent and per bale of dill at ₹12,500 per quintal for the season of 2026. This means an increase ₹445 per quintal for copra milling and ₹400 per cent per ball of dill in the previous season.
